Electric car company Better Place said on Tuesday it plans to
develop a $200 million to $250 million electric car network in Hawaii,
the latest market to join such efforts to cut global warming carbon
emissions and pricey fuel imports.

Shai Agassi, founder and chief executive of privately owned Better
Place, said the cost is an estimated "ballpark" range and that
investors have yet to be lined up for the all-island project. Better
Place has signed a memorandum of understanding with Hawaiian Electric
Companies.

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Better Place plans to offer electric transportation as a service,
like for mobile phones, with drivers paying to access a network of
charging stations. Governments from Australia to Denmark to the San
Francisco Bay Area have signed on to create similar networks in their
cities.

Renault and Nissan Motor Co Ltd have said they will build electric
cars, and mass market availability in Hawaii is expected in 2012.
(Reporting by Peter Henderson; Editing by Richard Chang)